I've loved photography for many years. Loved it deep in my soul. And the other day I finally figured out why.

As temporary as this life is, I suppose it's natural to want to leave one's mark. Well, my pictures are my mark -- part of it anyway. The real mark I hope to leave behind is in the hearts of people who look at my photos, and more importantly the people in and around those photos. Last week, making family pictures for good friends, I wasn't just making photographs; I was creating memories while I captured them. The pictures are great, but they are only sub-second moments in time.

The pictures are only keys that unlock memories of the beautiful time shared between the frames -- that's where the real gold is found.

There are lots of things I'd like to be remembered for when I'm gone. But most of all I just want to be remembered fondly. And for me, the surest way to make that happen is to build and capture memories with the people in my life.

The challenge here is that people are the subject that scares me the most. Heck, the only subject that really makes me nervous. So it's a choice between staying in my comfort zone, or building the kind of legacy I want for myself.

For now, I photograph the lovely people in my own little circle -- every one of them beautiful whether they realize it or not, and surely worthy of having proper pictures made.

And soon I'll have to push the envelope further, expanding that comfort zone while I expand my circle and my world.